CERTAIN CANADIAN INDUSTRIES' INPUT ON POSSIBLE WTO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 002562 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE PASS USTR FOR SMCCOY, TGARDE, SCHANDLER COMMERCE PASS USPTO FOR AADAMS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CA CH KIPR ECON ETRD AORC WTRO USTR SUBJECT: CERTAIN CANADIAN INDUSTRIES' INPUT ON POSSIBLE WTO DISPUTE ON CHINA IPR REF: A. OTTAWA 2406 (NOTAL) ¶B. STATE 126686 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: EconMinCouns and Econoff met with Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) head Graham Henderson (protect) on August 24 to discuss IP, specifically the USG's role in encouraging GOC to pass legislation implementing the WIPO Internet Treaties. Henderson also briefed us on the August 11 industry consultations in Toronto on a possible WTO case against China (see ref A in which Doug George of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAIT) stated the GOC was still gathering Canadian industry input.) Henderson said that the Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition Network (CACN) industry representatives at the meeting supported action to encourage China to enforce IPR. He also indicated that George heard from Canadian electronics companies with patent-infringement issues in China, and that they also strongly supported GOC action to pressure China to enforce IPR, although there was no consensus on whether to join the WTO case. Henderson gave us a letter signed by several IP industry associations (see para 2) that shows strong support for GOC action on IPR infringement in China in reference to a proposed (and now postponed) GOC trade mission to China. In addition, Henderson also provided us with an internal CRIA memo discussing the possible China WTO case (see para 3). The Embassy obtained from another source Doug George's presentation on the possible WTO case to the members of CACN. Please email Econoff Beth Mader (madere@state.gov) for more information on these documents. End summary. CACN encourages GOC to urge China to protect IPR -------------- --- ¶2. (SBU) Henderson shared a copy of an industry letter to Doug George and Industry Canada's Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) Senior Policy Analyst Samuel Steinberg. The letter calls upon the GOC to "ensure China actively reduces its piracy levels and opens its markets to intellectual property goods." This letter was sent to George and Steinberg in reference to a planned GOC trade mission to China (the trade mission is now postponed due to Trade Minister Emerson's tight schedule). According to Henderson, the trade mission would have included Emerson and Canadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda and would have focused on Canadian cultural trade. CRIA, which faces large losses in China due to pirated music, organized an industry response in the form of the letter to George and Steinberg to encourage the inclusion of IPR issues in the trade mission. It is signed by the presidents of the Canadian Independent Record Production Association (CIRPA),the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association (CMPDA),the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA),the Canadian Publishers' council (CPC),the Music Industries Association of Canada (MIAC),the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA), the Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC) and the Canadian Music Publishers Association (CMPA). As such, it is an impressively wide-ranging and well-supported call for the Canadian government to address IP issues in China. It makes no reference to the WTO case, however. CRIA wants GOC to join WTO case -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Henderson also provided us with an internal CRIA Q3. (SBU) Henderson also provided us with an internal CRIA memo on the potential WTO case. The memo refers to a powerpoint presentation made by Doug George at the August 11 meeting in Toronto; we obtained a copy of George's powerpoint presentation from another source. CRIA's internal memo includes detailed analysis, but basically boils down to CRIA's answers to the two questions on which George solicited industry input. The first question was: "Does Canada share the US concerns regarding copyright?" CRIA's memo states "we certainly do." George's second question was: "Can we demonstrate serious prejudice to Canadian businesses?" CRIA's memo indicates that they need to gather proof that Canadian rights holders have exhausted legal means of redress in China and evidence of harm to Canadian rights holders. According to the memo and Henderson, CRIA is pushing DFAIT to get Canada to join the WTO case. CRIA is trying to pull together an industry group (drawing from CACN members) to lobby the GOC to join the WTO case. Other private industry opinions -------------- ¶4. (SBU) We have made inquiries with other industry organizations regarding their stance on the possibility of OTTAWA 00002562 002 OF 002 Canada joining the United States in a WTO case against China. CMPDA says that they will be following the U.S. Motion Picture Distributors Association's lead on this issue. ESAC expects not to take a position, because not all of their members are in agreement and because their members' IP is not Canada-based anyway (for example, Nintendo faces huge losses in China, but Nintendo is based in Japan and therefore the injury to Canada is less obvious.) CACN as a whole has not come to an official position, and thus far it seems that CRIA is leading the charge to get the GOC to join the US case. GOC Plans -------------- ¶5. (SBU) DFAIT's Nancy Segal (filling in for the vacationing Doug George) described the CACN consultations at the August 11 meeting as inconclusive, mentioning that many concerns were raised about IPR in China, some of which had no connection to the WTO case. She told us that the GOC is still consulting internally on the matter while the Justice Ministry's Trade Law office looks into legal questions. Not only has DFAIT requested more information from CACN member industry associations, but the GOC also intends to consult with the provincial governments, possibly in the upcoming "CTrade" provincial meetings in September. Segal said that unless the provincial governments had already been lobbied by their industries on the WTO issue, she would not expect the provinces to have answers ready and there would therefore be an additional delay in developing a GOC position on the WTO case. Embassy Next Steps -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The Embassy's internal IPR Working Group will meet August 29. Please keep us informed of developments on the potential WTO case, and let us know what next steps would be most useful to USG agencies. Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa DICKSON